


The Story On Your Skin

by special__death



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/F, F/M, Homo, I suck at tags, Idk what i'm doing, M/M, Somewhat Fluffy, and the gays, aot - Freeform, attack on titan - Freeform, basically i love homo relationships, but hets are amazing too y'know, eren is dominant, i can't decide so yeah, i guess there's smut, idk - Freeform, levi is submissive, lots of homo, ocd levi, punk levi bc yeah, shingeki no kyojin - Freeform, smut later maybe, snk, sorry - Freeform, supportive eren, 進撃の巨人 - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-26
Updated: 2015-05-23
Packaged: 2018-03-31 21:12:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3993061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/special__death/pseuds/special__death
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p></p><div class="center">
  <p>"God, you're pushy. I was just about to invite you to my friend's party later tonight and pay for your little fuck-up with the wine, but if you're gonna be a little bitch, I won't do either."</p>
  <p>Eren's just a college kid trying to have a little fun with his friends when some asshole drops a bottle of wine in the store. Because of the (literal) punk's good looks and cold, dead-set against him demeanor, Eren decides to invite the asswagon to his friend, Armin's, party. As it turns out, the kid also lives above Eren's apartment (without his knowledge).</p>
  <p>But who knew that a really bad crush could develop on a less-than-gentle person, much less an ego-fueled and volatile-tempered punk with studs, tattoos, and a bad case of OCD?</p>
</div>
            </blockquote>





	The Story On Your Skin

**Author's Note:**

> Hi this is my first time posting to AO3 and quite frankly I feel like I am going to die if I fuck up on this. I know it's a generally friendly place but y'know sometimes I get kinda worried about the layout. It's not like anything I've ever used before so I'm just like "wh?A?t???? how do this work".
> 
> I've seen people calling out for a beta so at a guess, betas are the people that help authors with spelling and grammar and shit... which I could probably use but w/e. Also, I don't know if this goes under 'Not Rated', 'Mature', or 'Explicit'
> 
> So this is based a lot off of two youtube videos I saw and fell in love with (I just kind of mixed them):
> 
> ["Tattoo"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BADWWBlDy7A)   
>  ["To You, 2000 Years Later"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_flQP5DuOI)
> 
> I fell in love with both so checking them out would be wise.
> 
> Also, for the most part, there's a song I listened to that influenced this chapter a lot. It'd be cool if you listened to it while you read it...
> 
> -whispers- it's "Back To Life" by 3OH!3 (the chapter title is a line from it I think)

Eren lie in his bed, still exhausted from studying until 2 AM last night. It was far past afternoon now - like, 6 PM. Yes, he'd shamelessly slept until the evening, but he honestly didn't give a single fuck over it, because he'd called in sick for classes today. If he thought his first year of college was hard, this year - his second one - was even worse. But despite how hard it was, he still managed somehow, juggling his time with studying, classes, exams, video games, and shitting around in his apartment room.

He'd opted to live off-campus and worked part-time at a bookstore called The Crossroads Public Bookstore to keep that status. Living in the college dorms with his friend, Armin, and sister, Mikasa, would get annoying for sure. Both were so protective of him that he'd been fed up enough to just leave the dorms and rent his own apartment.

The building's owner, Erwin, had complied with his somewhat-low price. He got a good deal for the small room, which was one-bed and one-bath and perfect for his needs. All because the guy was nicer than most of the army men he'd ever met; Erwin was a former commander for the military but had since retired due to an injury that had long since healed. He barked commands at his subordinates and was generally less than sensitive in social situations, but that was OK with Eren. His blunt personality made him a little more likable than people who faked their emotions.

Eren's phone ringing caught him off guard as he thought, abruptly cutting short the time he'd spent thinking. Rolling to his side so that he faced his nightstand, he lazily reached over and accepted the call, pressing the phone to his ear and mumbling a short greeting and a 'Who is this?'

"It's Armin," the voice replied firmly. Eren shook off his grogginess and sat up in his bed, swinging his legs over the side so that they dangled, lightly brushing against the floor.

"Oh, shit, sorry! I just woke up and I didn't look at the caller ID," said Eren, his voice apologetic and guilty-sounding. On the other end of the receiver, he could hear Armin walking down somewhere busy, probably the streets of New York. A car's horn confirmed this, and he mumbled to Armin about speaking louder because he couldn't hear him.

"Eren, you still need to pick up some alcohol," the blond coconut urged him. Eren was confused for a few moments before Armin spoke again. "Don't you remember? You managed to convince me to have a party or something for 'good grades'. You said you'd buy the alcohol if I agreed to it," he prodded. Another car horn blasted in the background as Eren hazily tried to remember, and with that blast he suddenly found the recollection.

"Oh! Oh, shit, yeah, sorry," he apologized again. "Fuck, man, I'm sorry. I'll go buy it now. When's the party starting?" Eren asked, standing up quickly. As he waited for the response he shuffled around his room, searching for a clean t-shirt. He was 21 years old now, and he used this as the opportunity to get wasted with his friends whenever possible. As he pulled on some pants, holding the phone with his shoulder and tilting his head to keep it in place, he heard Armin's voice again, clear against the city's noises.

"It starts at 10. My bad, I had to find that notebook you gave me for Christmas, 'cause I wrote the details in there," Armin finally said. So 10 PM. It was kind of late, especially for Armin, but Eren had always been a night owl. The party might serve him good, because he might even meet someone. As he casually pulled on a pair of pants that looked the least dirty, he milled around his room, chatting to Armin about party ideas before deciding on a shirt.

"Okay. I'm going to set sail for the store now," he eventually said into the receiver. Armin hung up first, leaving Eren to bustle out into his small apartment. It was relatively normal, with a couch, a TV he left on carelessly - which he turned off now - and a kitchenette. On the counter of the kitchenette were his cheap car's keys; grabbing it, he rushed out the door, stumbling down the complex's stairs and out to the detached garage. On his way out, he bumped into Erwin and mumbled an apology.

"Where are you heading to, Eren?" the former commander asked politely. This was definitely cutting into the limited amount of time he had to help Armin set up for the party.

"Just to the store," he replied honestly. "I needed to pick up something for a friend's party." He didn't bother mentioning that the 'something' was booze, as Erwin was typically put at unease with college students drinking, especially around Eren. To be truthful, he was like a fatherly figure to him, but he never said anything about it to anyone out loud. But everyone seemed to get the drift.

"Oh, okay. Have fun," Erwin said, letting Eren pass as he walked up the complex's stairs to his own apartment. When he'd disappeared from sight, Eren made a beeline to his car, falling heavily into the driver's seat and starting it up. He haphazardly pulled out of the driveway, but drove much more carefully when he'd gotten on the roads.

 

* * *

 

 It didn't take long for Eren to reach the grocery store he typically bought alcohol at. It was a Kroger's, a very old one at that, but it was the nearest store to his apartment. He leisurely pulled into the parking lot, which was somewhat empty, save for a motorcycle and a couple of cars that looked nicer than his. Stepping out of his car, Eren quickly locked it, then entered the store.

There wasn't much to see, since it was essentially devoid of life, except for the couple of bored-looking teenage cashiers that were idly sitting around and talking. Eren gave them a short wave, both out of courtesy and because he had frequented the store so often he knew a few of the employees on a first-name basis. The girl who was facing him (the other had his back to him, but he turned to catch sight of Eren) blushed and waved back. Eren gave them a small smile before heading for the alcohol aisle, casually browsing the available booze when a voice piped up from somewhere behind him, followed by a shrill noise that sounded like glass cracking.

"Oh, shit!" the voice said loudly. It carried the tint of an accent that was undeniably French, which somewhat piqued Eren's interest in the individual. "What the fuck?" the owner of it went on cursing with creative and vulgar words, rounding the corner to smack into Eren. He got a good look at the owner and took him in for a few seconds.

He was small. Very small. At least five inches shorter than he was, if not more. And he looked very light-weight, too; but that wasn't what Eren would deem as important right now. The only thing he could focus on was the dude's clothes and general appearance - not weight and height. Despite his thin and scrawny posture, he wore all black, but his face glimmered with studs (two under his bottom lip, one in his nose, two going through his eyebrow, and a couple in his ears, at least 3 each) and his arms clearly had sleeve tattoos with tigers and shit on it. His black t-shirt had an obscure band name scrawled on it in a punk-looking font; his pants were skinny, black ones, and his boots were black with buckles on them. Not only that but his hair also looked pretty punk - it was an undercut, black as his clothes, with some strands falling in his face (which he ignored, of course).

But it was his face that managed to grab and hold Eren's attention. It was angled and pointed, with a sharp chin and nose, with thin lips. His eyes were captivating with stunning shades of blue and grey intermingling so subtly you would've missed it if you didn't look hard enough. His ears had some silver cuffs and studs, yet his face held all the attention with a strong jawline and pointed features. Not to mention his murderous glare and some kind of expressionless facade at the same time, of course.

Overall, yeah, this kid was fucking scary and intimidating.

"What the fuck are you looking at?" the kid snorted, stepping back. When he spoke, Eren saw the flicker of a stud on his tongue. He didn't bother apologizing for rushing into Eren, but the college student was at a loss of words, too wrapped up in the punk's eyes.

"A-ah, sorry, dude. But y'know, you kinda rushed into me, so it's your fault," Eren replied, jabbing a finger at the kid's chest. He had totally lost all respect he'd held for this punk-ass motherfucker, his too-cool attitude, and overall shitty personality. He could probably beat him up, but he wasn't taking any chances, especially since it appeared like he did have some muscle on his smaller arms. He frowned at Eren in reply when a voice rang out

"What the hell just happened?" it asked. The teenage girl that had been working the cashier rushed up, looking frantically at the rivalry going on right now. "Sir, have you dropped something?" she asked a little more politely.

The punk turned to face her, and nodded. "Yeah, I dropped a bottle of wine over in the other aisle." He maneuvered carefully around Eren and the girl to show her to the mess, surprising them both with his eloquent movements. He moved silently for a punk in a bunch of buckles and studs. But _wine?_ Damn, this kid must've had some taste or something. And probably a little bit of money, too, unless it was the shitty cheap kind.

When the teenage girl saw the mess, she nodded silently and stepped away, searching for a mop. The punk followed her and grabbed the mop from her, cleaning it himself. "Nice going, dude, you dropped some fucking wine," Eren frowned, staring at the red mess. It looked like blood to him, though it might've just been the punk's influence on him right now. It also looked like he'd just murdered someone instead of dropping a bottle of booze.

"Shut up, brat," the punk hissed as he kept sweeping an uncountable number of times, even though it was already cleaned. "You're not one to talk, anyways. You look like you rolled out of a fucking dumpster." His vulgar language was not lost on Eren, who found it a little humorous.

Eren rolled his eyes before replying. "Yeah, whatever. How did you end up dropping a bottle of wine, anyways?" he asked, watching as Punk kept mopping it away. The mess was no longer even existent, but even when the teenage girl tried to grab the mop away from him, he shooed her away and kept swiping the floor. Eren was beginning to think he had supervision and could clearly see the mess, but no, he just kept mopping.

"I... I was gonna buy some wine for tonight," Punk muttered, "and I wiped it down before I picked it up, 'cause that shit's dirty as fuck. When I wiped it off it fell from my hands," he finished, still mopping the floor. The girl remarked on how he'd have to pay for the broken bottle, which Eren waved off, stating he'd do it himself. He then proceeded to grab the mop, much to Punk's dismay, and shove it into the girl's arms. She walked away and placed it in a supply closet, then returned to the cashier.

"Why'd you wipe it off, dude?" Eren asked, folding his arms. The college student stared down at the punk, who Eren guessed probably wasn't even out of high school yet... but he was trying to buy wine? That threw him off a little. He couldn't be older than 21.

"Because I _have_ to, brat," the punk spat in reply. "Don't fucking question it."

"Fine, but whatever. Anyways, my inner monologue keeps referring to you as 'the punk kid'. D'you mind giving me your name?" he asked, frowning a little. The punk kid frowned, glaring long and hard at Eren.

"I'm Levi."

"Eren Jaëger."

"That's a bullshit name," the punk kid, now identified as Levi, quipped. He glared at Eren again, folding his arms across his chest in anger.

"Did I ask for your opinion on my name?" Eren spluttered in reply, glaring right back. They'd gotten off on the wrong foot, but now Eren was going to pay for this hot punk's mistake, so why not take a risk...?

"Whatever you're thinking about, stop it. You make the dumbest fucking face I've ever seen when you think," Levi insulted again, glaring up at the college student in his anger. He was less than delicate in social situations like these, which almost all of his friends seemed to know by now. Like he even had them in the first place, anyways.

"God, you're pushy. I was just about to invite you to my friend's party later tonight _and_ pay for your little fuck-up with the wine, but if you're gonna be a little bitch, I won't do either," Eren retorted, turning and walking towards the alcohol aisle. He picked two containers of beer. It was kind of on the cheap side, but if he was going to pay for the wine, he'd have to deal with this brand for now.

"Did I ask for an invitation to a fucking college kid party?" Levi replied, watching as Eren plucked the two containers off the refrigerated shelf. He was still scowling at the college student, but Eren refused to let the shorty get a rise out of him.

"No, but I would've requested you come anyways. You don't seem like you have a single friend in the world anyways," Eren replied, hefting the beer in his left hand so it was under his arm. He could see Levi hesitate for a few moments, like he was both considering the offer and thinking of a comeback.

"I've got a few friends," he finally replied. "When's the party?" he asked, giving Eren a scowl. Piercing grey eyes bore into Eren's... and Levi took his turn to notice the pretty teal hues that mixed together in his gaze. Shaking it off, he waited impatiently for the reply.

"Ah, it's at 10 PM," Eren finally responded, fishing around in his jeans' pockets for his phone before drawing it out. He unlocked the phone and found Armin's name in the contacts, then called him. As he was waiting for it to ring, Levi looked at him with an unimpressed and bored expression.

"That's a little late," was all the shorter man said. Eren shrugged, and mouthed, 'we're night owls' in reply when Armin picked up.

Eren held the phone up to his ear gingerly, then began to talk. "Hey, Armin, I got the beer. Unfortunately, I met this asshole," he paused, giving Levi a cold smile, before continuing, "and I wanted to know if he's allowed to be at the party or not."

"Uhh," Armin stuttered into the receiver. The familiar city sounds were missing from the background now, providing an inadequate environment for Eren to guess. That was, until he heard an obnoxiously loud heater humming in the distance - then he knew Armin was at home, probably preparing for the party. "As long as he won't be a dick, I'm sure it's fine," he said finally. Levi was looking around with a bored expression plastered over his face, but he didn't say anything.

"Hey, thanks, Armin," he replied a little more cheerily. Eren bid his goodbye to him and hung up, turning to Levi. "Okay, if you want, you can come. But," he paused, waiting until he had the punk kid's attention, "you have to promise to _not_ be... you. In general. Don't be your shitty side, if that's possible," he finished. Levi's lips twitched a little as if he was about to smile, but he shrugged it off.

"I can do that. But most of the time I have a 'shitty personality', as you so eloquently put it."

Eren knew it was crazy. He met this punk kid, who used creative insults and vulgar language so frequently, and often insulted him. He was going to pay for his fuck-up with the booze he'd dropped. He was inviting him to his friend's party very suddenly - but why? He wondered this himself as he slipped his phone into his pocket and motioned for Levi to follow him to the check-out lane. The teenage girl bagged his items; the boy checked him out. Levi watched, idly playing with his lip studs as he watched. Eren was still wondering why he was doing all this as he paid and walked out, Levi following behind him.

"Did you drive here?" he asked, walking towards his car with his hands occupied with the bags he was carrying. Levi shook his head. "Okay then, do you want me to drive you home or something real quick? Hell, I could even pick you up if you wanted," Eren offered. To be honest, it did seem like he was trying a little too hard to stay with Levi. At this point, the punk's eyebrows raised, piercings and all.

"I didn't take you as the kind to be so upfront," he snorted. "I can ride with you and give you directions. You probably won't know where my home is," Levi sighed, raking a hand through his black hair.

Eren swore to God he'd have a nosebleed right there thanks to the little shit's actions, which he promptly decided to ignore. "That's fine, but I've been here for a year or two; I know where almost everything is."

He kicked is car to pop the trunk, to Levi's disgust. Eren shot him a cutting glare before dropping the bags into the trunk, then casually walked around and flung himself into the driver's seat. Levi opted to go for the back; Eren watched on as he literally placed his hand on the car door handle five times in a row until he finally opened the door and sat down, disgusted by the car's cleanliness.

Eren was, of course, a little offended. He did his best to keep the car's appearance in check, but maybe Levi's standards for cleanliness were a little higher than normal. When he shut the door, though, he touched the inner handle five times, the same as the outside of the door.

"Why do you do that?" Eren asked casually, starting up the car and pulling out of the parking lot. He absently drove, occasionally tossing glances in the mirror to see Levi's bored, dull expression. He shrugged; Eren barely caught the gesture, but did manage to get a fleeting glance of it. There was no reply from Levi, so he stayed quiet the rest of the ride, until he began to speak up.

"Turn here," he directed, leaning forward in his spot.

 

* * *

 

Gradually, he directed Eren to his apartment complex. When they parked, Eren looked confused; he turned his head to stare blankly at Levi. "Dude, this is my complex," was all he could manage to get out. Levi looked just as confused, but got out of the car.

"It's mine too," he said distantly. Erwin was sitting on the steps reading a book, basically just enjoying the last of the warm weather before it began to get colder. Eren quickly rushed up to him, questions whirling around his mind. The blond former commander looked up at him, raising an eyebrow, until he spotted Levi following Eren. He'd shoved his hands into the pockets of his black skinny jeans and stood there quietly, waiting for Eren to start asking the questions.

"I- well, Erwin," he began, practically stumbling over his words. "I met this kid," he said, gesturing helplessly to Levi. "He was in the store with me, and I invited him to my friend's party. I kinda felt like I had to drive him home, but... when?" he mumbled, staring at Erwin. The former commander shook his head and gave a small, airy laugh.

"He moved in almost two weeks ago, Eren," he said finally. "Didn't I tell you about him? If you can recall, his name's Levi Ackerman," Erwin offered, standing up and closing his book. "But I'm glad you met, even if you didn't listen to when I told you about him." The former commander's hand fell heavily on Eren's shoulder as he gave another laugh, turning and walking up the stairs.

"Damn. I didn't know," Eren said after Erwin had left. He turned to Levi, whose face was as blank as ever. He never wore an emotion that was anything other than either annoyance or that look that simply read, "I'm going to murder you in your sleep and feed your guts as slop to my friend's pigs who live on his farm". Despite this bit of information of Levi, Eren still preferred taking a dangerous route: learning more about the punk kid, with his dumb hair and stupid piercings and tattoos... to be honest, he actually did like the piercings. They looked good on him, and Eren wanted to know if they hurt; he'd once considered getting some himself, but Mikasa had managed to talk him out of it, aided by Armin. The tattoos were always a long-term interest to him, though, and neither his sister nor his best friend could make him reconsider getting one. He promised he would soon, since he was in college now and literally nobody could stop him.

"Yeah, okay, I don't care," Levi finally replied absently. He shifted uncomfortably before blinking at Eren. "I'm going to go and get ready. You should too, especially since you look like trash," the kid snorted. Eren rolled his eyes but silently agreed; the two left their place at the bottom of the stairs and went to their respective apartments.

 

* * *

 

Eren slammed the door to his apartments, not caring if anyone could hear it. He took a moment to recollect himself but he still thought about Levi; Levi, who he'd only just met. He didn't even know much about Levi, but for some reason, he felt the urge to learn more. Such an intriguing character; Eren ached to draw him.

And there. That was Eren's little "secret", though all of his friends knew it. He wanted to go to college for art, but decided against it, instead taking it as his minor. Eren's talent lie with his current major - technology (in general). Web design was his goal, since he was so into art as well as computers. Personally, he thought that HTML was exciting; admittedly, he'd enjoyed his classes so far, but he was generally lacking in the other courses he took.

But as his thoughts drifted off, his phone ringing interrupted them. It was Armin again, he saw, as he pulled the small device out of his pocket and held it up to his ear. "Hey, Armin, I got some beer and it turns out the asshole lives in my apartment complex - he's right above me apparently," I laughed, letting out a loud sigh.

"Oh, interesting," Armin replied. The background noise hinted that he was still home, probably finished preparing and simply waiting for Eren to show up with the booze. "So when are you getting here?" he asked.

"Soon," Eren replied. "We'll be there soon." He hung up after saying 'goodbye' to Armin and quickly showered, then dressed himself in cleaner clothes; he really had to do some laundry. With a glance to his phone, he saw that it was 7:48 PM, and that it was Saturday, September 5th. Thank God it was Saturday; otherwise he wouldn't even bother helping Armin set up his party.

He envied Armin, he realized as he slipped into his fresher jeans. He envied him because he was so intelligent he typically didn't have to try very hard with schoolwork; good grades came to him naturally, like it was some kind of innate thing he'd inherited. Because of this, he was able to throw more parties than Eren, who spent the majority of his time trying to study (but ultimately failing and ending up playing video games or some shit). Yet he was "socially constipated", as Eren put it. Not a lot of friends besides Eren, and a lot of free time on his hands. It was probably put to a worthless amount of time spent studying (he didn't need it, after all) and probably no past or current love life. That was what made Eren dead-set for finding him a romantic interest, though he didn't know which "direction" he swung in. It probably didn't matter because it was a moot point, but it was always worth the effort to try and help his friend.

A fist banging against his door five times knocked him out of his thoughtful stupor, alarming him slightly. He opened the door to see Levi standing there, and took a few minutes to carefully study his appearance after the short amount of time he'd spent readying himself.

His hair, which had previously been kind of dopey-looking and slightly hanging in front of his eyes, was a little more spiky now. His clothes hadn't changed much, but the t-shirt was now, with no band advertisement on it. But he still looked scary as fuck, especially to Eren.

"Well? Are we going to get go or not?" he asked. His tone was a little annoyed, and Eren drifted off into thought again, this time wondering about how many times Levi had touched his door's handle before finally knocking. The thought was a little awkward, but he didn't mind the awkward thoughts much anymore.

He'd been outed by Jean, of course, the pompous bastard who worked at the store opposite of Crossroads' only location. It was a dumb soup store named "Souprise" - he laughed at that typically, since it was a ridiculous name. But Jean had jokingly asked Eren out on a date, to which the teal-eyed college student had reluctantly agreed to; Jean had paled and said, "Shit, man, I didn't think you were _actually_ gay!"

And that's how he came out, basically.

"We're going now," Eren finally replied, struggling to make his way out the door. He made sure to grab his phone in case anything disturbing happened, and raced down the stairs waiting somewhat patiently for Levi to rush down after him. "You're so short," he observed as they leveled out on the ground. Erwin was nowhere in sight, of course, much to both Eren and Levi's relief.

"Shut the fuck up. Brat."

"Okay, fine, but you're so damn hostile," Eren sighed, pulling himself into the driver's seat. "Just shut up and get in the car already," he added, watching as Levi continuously touched the handle until he was satisfied. It was a really odd habit, but then again, everything about Levi in general was odd. That's what made him intriguing was all; Eren's mind dangerously went blank for a few seconds as he pulled out of the garage, sighing.

"I am not hostile," Levi began, but he knew it was a lost cause. He really was hostile, especially to everyone he met. "I mean, I'm not hostile to the point that I have no friends. I've got Hanji, as I said before," he amended, leaning back against the car's seat leisurely.

"Yeah, whatever," Eren grumbled as he drove.

 

* * *

 

The ride was blissfully peaceful. There was no more talking as Eren turned up the radio, which was playing one of his favourite songs - "Landfill" by Daughter. It seemed to apply to him somehow right now, but it never had in the past. It was just a pretty song with pretty words and a pretty voice; but now he felt like he could connect with it.

 _"I want you so much, but I hate your guts,"_ Eren hummed quietly; Levi didn't seem to notice, since he was looking out the window. Eren was thankful for that, especially since it'd be kind of awkward if Levi knew that Eren thought he was, well, fucking _hot._ What a way to ruin a budding _friendship_ , of course.

But was it really going to be just that? For the love of God, Eren hoped not.

"What's the name of this song?" Levi asked, interrupting his thoughts. Eren paused for a moment, halting the noises he was emitting. For a few seconds he was embarrassed that Levi had heard him humming along, so he let out a small breath of relief before replying.

"It's 'Landfill' by Daughter. She has a lot of really good songs," he added, doing his best to recommend the great artist to the punk. "You kind of seem like you're more into Metallica though. Guess you wouldn't be too into her." Eren tapped his fingers against the steering wheel, drumming along to the slight beat the song held. It was a beat that enraptured Eren, especially on a rough day at work at Crossroads with Jean harassing him for some dumb-ass reason.

"No, I've heard 'Youth' before, I liked that too," Levi replied pointedly, turning his gaze back at the outside of the window.

 _"This is torturous electricity between both of us,"_ her soft voice sang. _"This is dangerous, because I want you so much, but I hate your guts."_

 _I know how you feel, Daughter,_ Eren thought bitterly. He listened to it carefully as he drove the route to Armin's college dorm, ignoring the light drumming of Levi's fingers. He'd learned the beat so fast it'd surprised Eren; after all, Levi wasn't the musical type per say... or was he...? At a guess, he probably was. But that would be open for Eren to wonder about later, when he wasn't driving in the middle of traffic.

 

* * *

 

"Hey, Armin, sorry we were late," Eren called as he hurried out of the car, carrying the bags alcohol in his hands. The blond coconut's face appeared, poking out of the doorway. It lit up when it caught sight of Eren and he opened the door entirely, his eyes catching on Levi for just a second.

"Is this the 'asshole' you met?" he asked curiously, looking up the short dude. Eren could tell he was taking in just how punk the little shit was, so he waited patiently. It was a lot to absorb, especially when your friends was probably gay for such a punk kid.

"Damn straight," Levi deadpanned, watching on as Eren and Armin awkwardly laughed. Armin quickly ushered the two into the dorm, which was absolutely spotless. Eren's intentions were that it was _not_ this clean tomorrow morning. He draped himself across the couch lazily, sighing. Armin pushed him off, urging him to his feet, then made them get the preparations ready for the party. Levi dutifully set out some solo cups in a variety of different colours on the kitchen table, his expression - if he even had one - still unreadable. Eren hazily meandered around, occasionally fixing something he didn't like as he saw fit. Armin's snorts of displeasure when he changed something the blond liked didn't stop him, though, as he wandered.

Eventually, the dorm was ready. Slipping his phone out of his pocket again, Eren shot a glance at the time. 9:23 PM. It'd be half an hour until people started arriving at least, so again, Eren threw himself unceremoniously onto the couch. Levi scoffed and tossed just his legs off to make room for him to sit, draping his arm across the back of the couch and looking around.

"I remember when I got out of college," the punk kid said suddenly. Eren's gaze drifted over to him in surprise before he went on. "Hated it, actually. I was glad I got out."

"Jesus fuck," Eren mumbled, rolling onto his back. "How old are you, anyways? I can't even tell, you're just emotionless all the time. No emotions, no wrinkles. No wrinkles, no age deduction," he joked darkly, rubbing his eye casually as Armin set about the room, adjusting the solos just so; for him, every party he threw had to be perfect. But of course they'd always end up in a drunken, sloppy mess.

"I'm only 27," Levi replied, looking a little pleased at the 'compliment'. Eren jolted upwards, mouthing 'really?' to him. He nodded, giving the teal-eyed brunette a short but rare laugh. Eren had no clue that this short, punk-like "kid" could be 27. That was older than he was, of course; there was a 6 year difference, which was very surprising.

Eren shrugged it off and laughed a little more before replying. "I turned 21 recently. March 30th," he recalled, flicking his fingers lightly. His birthday included a small celebration with Mikasa and Armin buying him just _one_ bottle of alcohol and letting him drink it. From there on out, he slowly increased the amount of alcohol he consumed, and his tolerance was higher than when he first had a drink. This granted him the ability to actually have fun at parties, but he despised hangovers when he had them.

"Really?" Levi's voice interrupted. "I have a shitty birthday," he added darkly. "It's on Christmas."

Eren looked surprised, since that wasn't a "shitty birthday". In fact, he thought it was pretty cool. "But that's cool," he pointed out, eyes widening just a little. Levi's eyes caught his and held them for a few moments; the two of them just acknowledged the colour of the other's eyes. Both thought the other's were prettier. Both enjoyed looking at them. But they wouldn't admit that.

Levi huffed, adjusting himself on the couch. Eren was still sprawled out, so Levi shoved his leg away from his. "I know it's 'cool', you brat, but that also means people merge my fucking presents together. 'Oh, this counts for _both_ of your presents!' my ass," he snorted, removing his arm from the back of the couch and letting it drop to his side.

"That sucks," Eren replied simply. A slight buzzing against his upper thigh dragged him out of the weird conversation; it was a short one, like a text message. With a bitter face, he drew out his phone and looked at it.

**Mikasa: omw bringing annie and reiner**

"Armin! Mikasa's on her way with Annie and Reiner," he repeated the message to his friend loudly. Armin was still wandering around the room, ignoring the conversation, and typically just fixing the positions of things so that it was 'just right'. He nodded in reply to Eren's voice, going around and fiddling with a solo cup and placing a sharpie near them so people could clearly mark their cups with their names.

"Who the fuck are those people?" Levi muttered, playing with the stud in his eyebrow a little. He looked a little fidgety, and he kept touching some of his studs five times. Five times, always five, never more, never less; it concerned Eren a little, but he paid no mind to it. After all, he couldn't tell if the short, compulsive clean-freak had some kind of condition. He'd make sure to ask about it later.

Eren forced himself out of his thoughts again to answer, "Mikasa is my sister. Annie and Reiner are her friends, and they're also cousins." Levi nodded, and the two sat back against the couch while they waited, just talking a little.

 

* * *

 

By the time Mikasa, Annie, and Reiner showed up, Eren and Levi had talked for a little more than what was necessary. Occasionally, Armin would shoot Eren a glance as if to say, 'Really? You're really conversing with a punk guy?' but Eren usually just ignored that. Instead, he learned a few more things about Levi. It was kind of nice to know him, even though he kept swearing in all of his sentences and he usually insulted Eren in a manner he knew wasn't really that intentional. Overall, he was just an asshole naturally, albeit a nicer one than one who was an asshole on purpose.

"Hi, Eren," Mikasa greeted as she walked through, dragging Annie and Reiner behind her. Her eyes immediately caught on Levi, who Eren was talking to when they entered. "Who's this?" she asked sharply, watching as both Annie and Reiner greeted the three of them and started talking to each other a little, like they were resuming a conversation they'd had in the car.

Levi snorted. "I'm Levi," he informed Mikasa, who gave Eren a slightly confused look. He shrugged in reply until Levi spoke again, "I moved into the apartment above Eren's, and he invited me to the party after I fucked up with a bottle of wine and dropped it in the middle of a store."

Mikasa gave him a slow nod before walking over to where the solo cups were. She was stoic, but Eren knew she had intentions to watch him intently in case Levi tried to pull anything at the party. She usually never had liquor, and tonight was probably going to be no exception. Eventually other friends began to stream in, bringing Bertholt, Jean (the asshole that once fought Eren and lost badly), Sasha, Connie, Krista, Ymir, and just all of Armin's college friends in general. It was a lot of people to be Armin's friends; Connie kept holding Sasha's hand, so Eren got the feeling Armin knew just Sasha and she'd asked to bring her boyfriend with her. The same went for Ymir, who was basically by Krista's side the entire time. She never even really spoke, much less gave everyone a proper greeting - just a wave.

Eren had sat upright on the couch now to make more room for people.

"So, who got the alcohol?" Sasha asked, falling onto the couch beside Levi. He looked a little disgusted at the sudden contact, but tried his best to be polite and not snap at the girl. Eren acknowledged Levi's discomfort and spoke to Sasha, saving Levi from having to respond.

"I did. Armin's got some solo cups in the kitchen, so you can go pour yourself some beer," Eren replied generously, watching as Levi awkwardly shuffled away from Sasha. Coincidentally, that would be closer to him; Eren's heart raced quickly in his chest, beating hard. Maybe it was just a spur of his old teenage attitude, but he kept staring at Levi's face, taking in the details of his pointed features and the way he glared at Sasha. The little asshole was really cute, especially with his height, and for just a minute Eren wanted to hug him. Go figure.

"Hey, thanks," Sasha replied to his suggestion, standing up and bustling for the kitchen. Armin's kitchen was a lot nicer than Eren's, which was a way to say 'it's bigger and has more food in it'. Sasha, of course, also grabbed a bagel to gnaw on alongside a solo cup full of the beer Eren had picked up. The spot on the couch was soon replaced by Annie's presence. She was blunt with her words, so Eren was sure Levi would like her.

 "Hey, Annie," Eren greeted, a little too cheerfully. Levi shot him a slightly disgusted look, like he expected him to be cold to the blonde. She nodded back, never missing Levi's glare; she gave him one of her own. Levi caught it with an approving glance before Eren piped up again. "Well, I'm going to go get a drink real quick." Neither the blonde nor the grey-eyed punk replied, so Eren stood up and found his way into the kitchen.

He was greeted by the sight of Ymir, her arm draped unceremoniously over Krista's shoulders, talking to Connie. All three were either smiling or laughing at a joke Eren had presumably missed, so instead he smiled politely and said his 'excuse me's as he scooted over to the fridge. He grabbed a solo cup, filled it up, and made his way back to the couch. Levi and Annie remained silent as they had before, but suddenly Jean appeared with a smug look on his face.

"What's this, Jaëger?" the horse teased, looking down at Eren, whom was sitting a little too close to Levi than what he'd consider 'normal.' Jean's snorts reminded Eren of a very big and dumb horse at the moment.

"What do you mean, 'this'?" the college student replied, unaffected by the prod at the short punk who was sitting beside him. Somewhere in the distance, music that vaguely sounded like the Neon Trees was softly playing. Eren wished he could turn it up, just to ignore Jean. "I mean, if you're wondering who's sitting next to me," he gestured to the punk, "then you should probably just ask him." With this being said, he shot Levi a glance, silently wishing he got the message to be as rude to Jean as possible.

"Yeah, okay, fine," Jean muttered, folding his arms across his red t-shirt and turning his gaze onto Levi. "What's ya name, huh?" he asked, wearing his shit-eating grin as always. Eren was sure that the horse was going to try to hit on Levi at some point; he got the feeling that it would be a _very_ bad idea, too.

"It's Levi, you fucking professional asswagon." Apparently, Levi _did_ get Eren's silent message. The teal-eyed student leaned back against the couch in satisfaction, watching as Jean's face went blank until a light dusting of pink covering his horse's face. Someone had turned up the Neon Trees, effectively cutting off the rest of the conversation.

 

* * *

 

The party was fun. Eren thought so, of course, but he couldn't decipher Levi's feelings about it. The dude just sat on the couch the entire time, but only rarely said anything in reply to questions he was asked or stories told to him. Eren had begun to think he wasn't the chatty kind, which he certainly wasn't at that point. Most of his replies were directed to Eren and Annie, and he seemed to carry the same distaste for Jean that Eren held. At least he could be glad that the two didn't agree that the horse-faced dick was fun to be near.

But now, Eren stood up. In his hand he carried a half-empty solo cup; his teal-hued eyes scanned the room once more, hazily finding the limp people that had fallen asleep wherever they could in Armin's dorm. Levi looked half-asleep, his eyes heavily lidded. Annie was awake and sitting on a chair, casually scrolling through her contacts, ignoring her cousin's arm that grabbed at her leg. She simply shook it off and kept going through her phone, leaving Reiner to whine about how tired he was.

Mikasa had already left the party before it got too fun for her, of course. Either that or she _really_ disproved of Eren's new 'friend'. It was probably the latter.

"Well, Levi," Eren finally said, giving his eye a rub with his empty hand. Shuffling, he made his way over to Armin's kitchen counter, setting down his solo cup gingerly. Levi immediately perked up at the mention of his name, eyes widening a little but still keeping their perfect almond shape. Very pretty, Eren noticed for the hundredth time that evening. He sighed, shifting his wait, before piping up again. "Ready to go? I am. Bye, Annie," he added hastily, watching as the punk scrambled to his feet hazily. Annie acknowledged his goodbye with a brief nod.

"Yeah, I'm ready to go," Levi replied, a little too late. He followed after Eren, who snapped awake a little more. He was aware that he needed to be focused to drive; actually, he hadn't had a lot of alcohol at all for the guy who bought it. It was mostly water for him tonight, probably because he felt like it was his duty to drive home Levi - Levi, who had consumed a little more alcohol than he had, surprisingly. During the evening he'd caught him sipping at a red cup frequently.

As the two entered the car, Eren instructed Levi to put his seat-belt on, giving the clock a glance. He was surprised to see that it was 1:38 AM; that was late enough for him, but Levi didn't look too tired, just hazy and a little drunk. That wasn't surprising. He'd heard from Reiner before he went absolutely incoherent that Levi kept going to the kitchen for refills, meaning he must've chugged the beer at some point.

 

* * *

 

Just as the ride to the party had been, the ride back was uneventful and even a little blissful, if you could call it that. Eren talked to Levi a little, but only rarely got a groggy reply. Every once in a while, Levi would mention how this would be the first night for a long time that he'd probably get some actual sleep. He let slip that he only slept for a time frame ranging from 2 to 3 hours, which concerned Eren a little. Levi waved it off and said it was nothing, but it was still a little worrisome.

"How the hell do you even function?" Eren asked incredulously as he dodged a raccoon that had been foolishly running across the road. He could hear the sound of material against material, but he couldn't see Levi's actions; it took him a moment to realize this himself, so he quickly gave the verbal reply of 'I don't know'. Eren's shoulders fell back as he relaxed against the seat, still wary of his surroundings as he drove.

The rest of the car ride went relatively quickly and in silence.

 

* * *

 

As soon as Eren pulled up to the complex and turned around in his seat, he had the feeling it had gotten a little too quiet for it to be Levi. He was correct with his assumption, for when he turned around, he saw that the punk's head was tilted back against the headrest, eyes fluttered closed. With a sigh, Eren exited the car and walked over to Levi's side in the back, opening the door and placing a hand on his shoulder. He gently shook, urging the other man awake.

"Damn," Levi mumbled incoherently, flicking his eyes open slightly. "I bet I'm going to sleep better than usual tonight." Eren nodded, his expression deadpan, as he helped a drunken Levi out of the car and up the steps. After mumbling something about staying safe, he left Levi out in front of his apartment's door, quickly making the journey back down to his own apartment.

He quickly unlocked its door and entered, flying to his room and letting himself free-fall onto the bed, silently listening to Levi's footsteps overhead as he pushed his face into the covers. With every light footstep that fell, Eren slowly grew drowsier; somehow, he found the sounds Levi made a little comforting. He could only wonder what they'd sound like without the floor between them.

That was probably his last thought as he drifted asleep, giving out one last content sigh.

**Author's Note:**

>   
> ...In case you were wondering what Levi looked like...
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Without the neck tattoo and with clothes, of course. Hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter; I'm working on doing the second one soon.


End file.
